Roma will aim to continue their perfect record in the 2023-24 Europa League campaign on Thursday, when they travel to take on Slavia Prague in the fourth round of group fixtures.
The visitors have won each of their opening three games and will aim to guarantee a place in the round of 16 with a fourth straight victory, while their hosts are only three points worse off and are also fighting for guaranteed progression to the last 16.
Match preview
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After just missing out on the Czech title last time around, Slavia Prague have certainly been busy on the continent so far this season, as they had to battle through two rounds of Europa League qualifying to reach the group stage, firstly beating Dnipro-1 4-1 on aggregate before scraping past Zorya over two legs in the playoff round to book their place in Europe's secondary competition.
The Cernevobili's group campaign then began with a trip to Switzerland to take on Servette in September, and they kicked off with a three-point haul as Lukas Masopust and Igoh Ogbu netted their goals in a 2-0 triumph.
Jindrich Trpisovsky's side then played host to Sheriff Tiraspol in the second round of fixtures and made it six points from a possible six in eye-catching fashion, dishing out a 6-0 beating as Mojmir Chytil hit a brace alongside goals from Ogbu, Ivan Schranz and David Doudera and a Munashe Garananga own goal, before they saw their perfect record halted in a trip to Rome last time out.
In the battle between two sides level on six points after two group games, the Czech outfit fell short in the Italian capital, eventually losing 2-0 after two early goals from the hosts, and after following that up with a league victory over Bohemians 1905, they now head into Thursday's reverse fixture on the back of a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Viktoria Plzen after initially going ahead through Mick van Buren, seeing them drop from top spot in the Czech top flight as a result.
While they do still occupy second spot following that defeat to Roma last time out, their current standing is only good enough for a place in the playoff round if they are to advance to the knockout stage of the Europa League, meaning that their hopes of automatic progression to the round of 16 are hanging on a positive result on home turf on Thursday, with a victory levelling them on points with the visitors and evening out the head-to-head record ahead of the final two gameweeks.
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Roma, meanwhile, will aim to make it back-to-back triumphs over Slavia Prague on Thursday and four consecutive wins in the group stage to move out of sight in the fight for a round-of-16 spot, after only missing out on the Europa League title by the barest of margins last season, losing in a penalty shootout against Sevilla in the final.
Jose Mourinho's side returned to Europe's secondary competition this term with their sights set on going all the way, and they have certainly made a strong start in the group stage, beginning with a hard-fought 2-1 win away at Sheriff Tiraspol, thanks to a Gaby Kiki own goal and Romelu Lukaku's finish, before making it back-to-back triumphs with a 4-0 beating of Servette on home turf as Andrea Belotti netted a brace alongside goals from Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Aiming to continue their perfect start, I Giallorossi then played host to Slavia Prague in late October, and they built a lead in the group with a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico, with Edoardo Bove opening the scoring inside the opening minute and Lukaku adding a second early on.
Such a result means Mourinho's men now sit three points clear at the top of Group G after three outings, guaranteeing them at least a top-three finish and a place in the Europa Conference League playoff round, but they will look to make that lead insurmountable and seal a first-placed finish on Thursday to take the only automatic round of 16 place.
Now on the back of a dramatic 2-1 Serie A win over Lecce at the weekend, in which Sardar Azmoun and Lukaku scored their goals in injury time to complete a turnaround, Roma will look to complete the double over Slavia Prague and put themselves through to the knockout stage while avoiding a playoff round.
Team News
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Slavia Prague should line up in a similar way to how they did in the previous meeting with Roma in Italy last month, although they will likely remain without winger Ivan Schranz, who missed the recent league meeting with Viktoria Plzen through injury.
Mojmir Chytil should continue to lead the line, having netted seven goals in all competitions so far this term including two in the Europa League group stage, while Mick van Buren will also continue to play an important role in attack.
Behind them, Christos Zafeiris and Oscar Dorley are mainstays in midfield, while Tomas Holes should return to the back three from the outset alongside Tomas Vlcek and Igoh Ogbu.
Roma will continue to deal with several absences as Tammy Abraham remains confined to the treatment room alongside Marash Kumbulla, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Leonardo Spinazzola, although Leandro Paredes will return to contention after being suspended against Lecce at the weekend while Paulo Dybala was deemed fit to start in that game after an injury concern of his own.
He should again line up in a front three alongside Romelu Lukaku, who has netted nine goals in just 12 appearances for I Giallorossi since arriving on loan from Chelsea, including three in three Europa League group games and their winner at the weekend, while Houssem Aouar will likely complete the front line with Stephan El Shaarawy operating in a left wing-back role in the absence of Spinazzola, although Sardar Azmoun is also fighting to start after his equaliser off the bench on Sunday.
Paredes will hope to break back into the starting XI and join either Edoardo Bove or Bryan Cristante in the engine room, while Mourinho should field an unchanged back three of Gianluca Mancini, Diego Llorente and Evan Ndicka.
Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:
Mandous; Vlcek, Ogbu, Holes; Tomic, Dorley, Zafeiris, Provod; Van Buren, Chytil, Masopust
Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Llorente, Ndicka; Karsdorp, Bove, Paredes, El Shaarawy; Dybala, Lukaku, Aouar
We say: Slavia Prague 0-2 Roma
Thursday certainly presents Roma's toughest test of the group stage thus far, but they should take confidence from their victory over Slavia Prague in their previous meeting in Italy, and we fancy them to come out on top again this week thanks to the superior quality throughout their squad.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
